The Miami Heat are going after Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason. That's no secret. However, a rumored plan B could help tip the hand of the Heat's front office's thinking if their pursuits of Giannis falter again. And if this rumor holds any water, the Heat could be setting themselves up for disaster.
At the very least, it reveals one big blind spot that the front office may be missing.
Kawhi Leonard is reportedly one player who will be on the Heat's radar if their pursuits of Giannis don't lead anywhere. Considered somewhat of a plan B for the team. While, in theory, it's a move that would make sense, there's also reason to believe that it would be a complete disaster.
The simple fact is that Kawhi is a name, but he's not the franchise-changing piece that the Heat need him to be at this point in his career. And pursuing him as he would be could end up being a huge mistake.
Kawhi Leonard is not the franchise-changing piece the Heat thinks he is
While it's easy to understand why the Heat would be willing to go all-in for Giannis, a superstar player in the middle of his prime years, Kawhi is going to be 35 years old this summer. His best basketball is well behind him, and he has some serious injury concerns.
The injuries are clearly the big concern for going all-in for Kawhi. But there's another part of this that may not work out for the Heat as perhaps they would hope it could. And it's that there are big questions of whether Kawhi could carry a team at this point in his career.
Can Kawhi be the alpha superstar, No. 1 option that the Heat needs him to be for this experiment to be successful?
Can he fill the Jimmy Butler role on a team that has a lot of talented supporting pieces, but not foundational superstars on it? Can a team built on Kawhi and Bam Adebayo be good enough to make a deep run in the Eastern Conference?
Thre's no guarantee that it can.
The Heat can't afford to strikeout this summer
And for a Heat team that enters the offseason with the hopes of landing a franchise-changing piece, there should be real reservations about whether Kawhi can be that player.
He's certainly been that player in the past, but it's been a long time since he's excelled in that role in LA.
Maybe a fresh start will do him well. Maybe the Heat's supporting cast would be that much better compared to what he's had in LA. Perhaps Erik Spoelstra can get more out of him than any other coach in the league.
Still, that doesn't mean there isn't a big risk with the Heat going down this path.
Miami can't afford to whiff this offseason. They need to shake up their roster. They need a new leader. They desperately desire a star player. Kawhi will seemingly be available. But it may not be the home run pursuit that many in the Heat front office believe it may be.
And that's something that Miami can't afford to shrug off.
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